The fall in prices of base metals, except zinc, was minimized last week as strong data from US emerged. Copper surged on the weekend on anticipation that supply side would be affected severely due to earthquake in Chile.
During the week the dollar reduced the appeal of industrial metals as an alternative investment. Lack of confidence in Greece being able to handle its deficit problems kept pushing up the dollar and weighing on all the commodity markets.
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| Product | 18-Feb | 25-Feb | Change | % |
| Zinc | 2250 | 2148 | -102 | -5% |
| Nickel | 20230 | 20270 | 40 | 0% |
| Tin | 16645 | 16825 | 180 | 1% |
| Aluminium | 2076 | 2062 | -14 | -1% |
| Copper | 7086 | 7046 | -40 | -1% |
Change is on February 25th 2010 as compared to February 18th 2010
In USD per tonne
1. Zinc
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 18-Feb | 22-Feb | 23-Feb | 24-Feb | 25-Feb |
| 2250 | 2285 | 2156 | 2148 | 2148 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 25-Feb | 2148 | | |
| 18-Feb | 2250 | WoW | -4.53% |
| 25-Jan | 2323 | MoM | -7.51% |
| 25-Nov | 2247 | QoQ | -4.41% |
| 25-Feb'09 | 1101 | YoY | 95.18% |
In USD per tonne
2. Nickel
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 18-Feb | 22-Feb | 23-Feb | 24-Feb | 25-Feb |
| 20230 | 20530 | 20060 | 20270 | 20270 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 25-Feb | 20270 | | |
| 18-Feb | 20230 | WoW | 0.20% |
| 25-Jan | 18370 | MoM | 10.34% |
| 25-Nov | 16795 | QoQ | 20.69% |
| 25-Feb'09 | 9725 | YoY | 108.43% |
In USD per tonne
3. Tin
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 18-Feb | 22-Feb | 23-Feb | 24-Feb | 25-Feb |
| 16645 | 17000 | 16655 | 16825 | 16825 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 25-Feb | 16825 | | |
| 18-Feb | 16645 | WoW | 1.08% |
| 25-Jan | 17700 | MoM | -4.94% |
| 25-Nov | 14975 | QoQ | 12.35% |
| 25-Feb'09 | 10900 | YoY | 54.36% |
In USD per tonne
4. Aluminium
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 18-Feb | 22-Feb | 23-Feb | 24-Feb | 25-Feb |
| 2076 | 2115 | 2078 | 2062 | 2062 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 25-Feb | 2062 | | |
| 18-Feb | 2076 | WoW | -0.67% |
| 25-Jan | 2217 | MoM | -6.99% |
| 25-Nov | 2006 | QoQ | 2.79% |
| 25-Feb'09 | 1293 | YoY | 59.47% |
In USD per tonne
5. Copper
London Metal Exchange Rates
Cash Buyer
| 18-Feb | 22-Feb | 23-Feb | 24-Feb | 25-Feb |
| 7086 | 7337 | 7031 | 7046 | 7046 |
In USD per tonne
| Date | Rate | Period | Change |
| 25-Feb | 7046 | | |
| 18-Feb | 7086 | WoW | -0.56% |
| 25-Jan | 7408 | MoM | -4.89% |
| 25-Nov | 6914 | QoQ | 1.91% |
| 25-Feb'09 | 3350 | YoY | 110.34% |
In USD per tonne
The benchmark LME three-month copper contract MCU3 closed on Friday at USD 7,195 a tonne, having rallied 2.8%on the day. Traders said prices could rally by a similar amount on Monday. Copper is likely to climb when trading starts on Monday, lifted by uncertainty over supply after the world's top copper producer Chile was pounded by a massive earthquake.
The quake forced temporary suspension of up to a fifth of Chile's mining capacity, estimated at around 4.5 million tonnes of copper in concentrate annually, after Codelco and Anglo American halted operations at four mines in total. The government officials said exports would continue unhindered, but analysts expect prices will rise on Monday because of the possible disruption in infrastructure, power and transportation to the mines.
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